Public Relations

It was a new vice president for development, and expectations were high. I was serving on a campaign steering committee and enjoying a day full of high energy. The new staff leader entered the room quietly, sat in a row of chairs against the wall and proceeded to either text or read emails until he was asked to speak...

The American Red Cross is having a rough go of things lately—a mounting deficit, layoffs, more questions over its responses to recent disasters. And now, a "super racist" pool safety poster. The poster, part of the organization's swim safety efforts, features a diverse group of swimmers frolicking about in a public pool, with arrows pointing to certain swimmers indicating "cool" or "not cool" behavior...

Nonprofits rarely have the luxury of big advertising budgets, and it's not often they get chances to analyze whether their ads are working. But a new study may help shed some light on the kinds of ads that actually help drive donations. Market research firm Millward Brown and the Ad Council recently set out to…

Communication is key to achieving success in any undertaking, business or otherwise. So, it makes sense that the communications team would be a crucial subset of a nonprofit. The "2016 Nonprofit Communications Trends" infographic from Nonprofit Marketing Guide delves into the the who, where, how often and why behind the communications department...

Who are you? Have you been asked that question? My wife asked me that several weeks ago when I was having a meltdown on a particular subject that was especially frustrating to me. She did not recognize me in my reaction. I was not aligning to my stated beliefs and values. I was someone else...

Effective media relations isn’t always about proactively pitching your organization’s story to reporters and editors. It’s also about making sure you are curating the right information in the places where reporters hang out to gather information. Recently, we explored why it’s important to create a reporter-friendly online newsroom on your organization’s website to help ensure that…

The media landscape is evolving. The way consumers absorb news is much different today than it was even five years ago. We’re now living in an era of instant information; the days of the daily news cycle are fading, if not already behind us. Just look at the people in any public space—chances are that…

How can a small, local nonprofit simultaneously spread the word about its organization—and ultimately get more donors—with minimal impact on the budget? Tap local pools of talent. With a small staff, it's likely you have neither the time nor all of the expertise needed to accomplish your marketing, fundraising and awareness campaigns. As you tap…

Twitter is the New York City of social media platforms—it never sleeps and there’s always something to do. It is home to the hashtag, the creator of “trending topics,” and, of course, the platform for many infamous celebrity “Twitter feuds.” What do all of these things have in common? The fact that relevant trending news…

In last week’s article, I stated, “A nonprofit is not a business. But if you don’t run it like a business, you will go out of business.” A nonprofit organization differs from commercial ventures in many ways, but some important similarities exist...